Struggling to Make Order: The Narrative Structure of Going After Cacciato

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By structurally dividing Going After Cacciato into three narrative strands- war memories, flight to Paris, Observation Post - OBrien displays Paul Berlins struggle to make order out of the chaos that is this war experience in Vietnam.

In general, Going after Cacciato is convoluted and confusing. The confusion created by the narrative structure, not only through the different narrative strands but also through the random order events are presented to the reader, serves as a whole to mimic the confusion soldiers feel at every instant in war.

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Soldiers do not just feel confusion though. These soldiers see and often do horrific acts which forever scar them. They are plagued by memories and guilt. In the case of Paul Berlin, he creates an imaginative world as a way to escape the horrors of his actions. Paul completely attempts to displace reality by focusing on the imaginary. It is his way of coping with his experiences.

The flight to Paris chapters serve as a fantasy land for Paul to escape not only the things he saw in war, but also the guilt of killing a superior officer.

They are idealized versions of what Paul would like to happen in their pursuit of Cacciato. His destination is a kind of fantasy in and of itself as Paris is known the city of wonders, and one was extricated from the horrors of the war. In both real life and in Pauls imagination, the squad is chasing after Cacciato, which in Italian means the hunted. It is hard to say however, whether in his imagination they are chasing in pursuit of the innocence and purity which Cacciato represents (as he never technically consented to the murder of Sidney Martin, and even tried to search for a better way to handle the situation, which was symbolized by Cacciatos fishing), or whether they are going after him under the illusion that they are fulfilling their duties, although it is actually an excuse for fleeing the war.

For the same reason that the war memories are convoluted, these imaginative strands are strictly chronological, because they serve as the clear and logical path of escape from the tortuous memories of reality.

In these fantasy chapters, Pauls deepest desires also manifest themselves. For example, after Paul has been beaten by monks in Prayers on the Road to Paris, he imagines Sarkin Aung Wan gently licking his forehead (122). Paul truly longs for someone to love, comfort, and nurture him in the war, and he personifies these feelings in the form of Sarkin Aung Wan.

Although the entire journey to Paris is a fantasy created by Paul to escape, it is interesting to note that the more traumatic the memory is, the more fantastical the imaginative journey seems to be. Perhaps the epitome of this fact is how Paul and the rest of the squad escape Li Van Hgocs labyrinth just by falling out as easily as [they] fell in (98). In the previous chapter Upon Almost Winning the Silver Star, Paul just revisited the memory of Frenchie Tucker and Bernie Lynns death after Martin stubbornly enforced SOPs. The deaths of Frenchie and Bernie exacerbate the resentment the squad feels, and is what catalyzes Oscars plan of fragging the LT, which can be seen as Oscar challenges Martin, saying Your remember Frenchie Tucker, sir?... And Bernie?. Because Paul has just revisited this memory, he is now dangerously close to confronting the memory of the actual fragging of Martin, which is the single memory that Paul least wants to confront. Thus, he creates the most fanatical escape, showing how the degree of trauma is directly proportional to the magnitude of his fantasies.

However idealized his fantasies are, Paul can never truly escape the realities he tries to avoid. These chapters devoted to escape are always intruded by memories of the war. For example, in the chapter Flights of Imagination, Paul is in his fantasy land, riding a train in pursuit of Cacciato. The bare, rugged country which they drive past reminds Paul of Lake Country (177). Although he is in his idealized world, the memories of Lake Country which leads to the memory of Oscar talking seriously about solutions (178) still manage to penetrate his fantasy. These dream chapters ultimately always end in disaster.

The war memories are vivid, chaotic, yet unbiased descriptions of specifically traumatic times during his war experience. They are often jumbled and tangled, because in war, the sense of time is warped. These war memories could also be chronologically mixed to show Berlins way of trying,

unsuccessfully, to eradicate them- the most he can do is jumble them chronologically. In these chapters, what is not recounted is equally as significant as what is stated. Paul Berlin never actually describes the fragging of Lt. Martin. This is the event that causes Berlin the most guilt, and is the one which he least wants to remember. Paul however, does recount the event leading up to the fragging, as in the two chapters Lake Country and the Worlds Greatest Lake Country and the murder is mentioned multiple times later in the novel, which reflects Berlins struggle to come to terms with this horrifying act that he committed.

This interplay between imagination and memory shows that no matter how hard Paul tries to flee these memories, he always ends up in Vietnam. According to psychodynamic therapists, one not only needs to focus on remembering a memory, but also must recognize that one has done something so significant, and accept the responsibility for past actions. Thus, because he never fully owns up to what he did and instead tries to flee the guilt and emotions, Paul is continuously stuck in Vietnam. He can try and escape, but it is a cycle of escape into the fantasy world, to the war memories resurfacing, back to fantasy. Until he can confront his war memories, Paul will never be truly free from them.

The Observation Post Chapters describe the present. Paul is on the night shift of the watch and he does not wake up the next person for their shift so as to have more time to contemplate his thoughts. However, this also allows for war memories to taint his fantasy of how everything should turn out. The location of the post lends itself to a measure of introspection. The post overlooks the South China Sea-traditionally, because of the reflective properties, bodies of water symbolize mirrors for characters to look with and reflect upon their actions. Thus, in these chapters, Paul spends much time just observing and thinking, and attempts to have moments of clarity. Pauls simply observing in the Observation Post chapters reflects this idea of these chapters as represent Pauls most profound moments as Doc stated that the only way to answer the hard questions war presents are by inwardlooking and insight, vision (206).

In The Observation Post Paul contemplates the simple truths of Billy Boy Watkinss death, and decides that from there, it is merely a matter of following the facts to where they ended (220). He understands this truth, but is unable to follow the facts, confront the events after his death, and thus escapes in the next chapter to his Paris fantasy. However, Paul does have that epiphany moment while in the Observation Post, reflecting the idea that these chapters are Pauls attempts at insight and reflection. These chapters also serve as a kind of middle ground between the war memories and the chimerical flight to Paris chapters, because they are in the present, yet they segway either to the past or the future.

Collaboratively, all three chapters serve to show Pauls attempt to make order out of the confusion and horror that constitutes the war. The flight to Paris chapters are Pauls evasion of the truth, the war memories are unfiltered memories which surface at moments triggered by events in Pauls fantasy, and the Observation Post chapters are Pauls attempts at clarity.

All three chapters, together, reflect the idea that until Paul can take responsibility for his actions and shoulder the appropriate moral responsibility, he will ultimately remain stuck in Vietnam, stuck with his horrifying memories.